Category Archives: Instructor Announcements

How to Add Pages, Adjust Menu Items, and Edit Portfolio Appearance

Someone requested more step-by-step instructions on how to design/edit the portfolios, so here we go!

Adjusting Portfolio Appearance

On the lefthand side of your Site Dashboard, you will see a tab that says “Appearance.” Under that tab, there is a submenu with many more options to click on.

To change the overall design of your Portfolio, click on “Themes.” There are a variety of free themes that you can choose from. Then, once you choose a theme, you can click on “Customize” to change particular elements of the theme design like the site title, site tagline, menus, etc. The remaining items under “Appearance” are also things you can change under “Customize,” so it just depends on which editor you like better.

“Widgets” are pre-designed items that you can add to the sidebar of your portfolio. Or, you can delete the ones that your theme came with! For example, the widgets on our course site are Recent Posts, Categories, and Tags. You can add whatever you want here.

Under “Menus,” you can change which pages appear in the top menu on your portfolio site, add things, rearrange their order, and create submenus. Just by clicking and dragging! On my Sample Portfolio here (which is very incomplete!!!), you can see that I chose to put the “This I No Longer Believe” paper as its own menu item and then have all of the assignments related to the Final Paper as subitems under the Final Paper tab. However, notice that when you click on those items, I still need to edit the pages they take you to to make them match the menu.

Adding and Editing Pages and Posts

On the Dashboard, you will see a tab on the lefthand side that says “Pages.” This is where you can edit existing pages to make them say what you want, and also add new ones.

“Posts” are a lot like pages, except they will go into the blog/news/posts tab of your site. You may choose to use posts for all of your portfolio materials, but you may also choose not to use posts at all and just do pages for everything. It’s up to you!

Within posts, you can assign both tags and categories. This helps people find related material on your site.

Doing More Complicated Things

Feel free to get adventurous as you want with your web design! When I created our course site, I went to the “Plugins” tab (lefthand sidebar on the Dashboard) and just looked through all of the available plugins. If you see something you want to try, click on “Activate.” Depending on the plugin, you may see a new menu option on the lefthand side, or a new button when you are editing a post or a page. Plugins all come with their own Help pages.

If you do any web design experiments, feel free to write about them in your portfolio reflections.

Need More Help?

The Open Lab at City Tech has some helpful documentation that explains (with screenshots!) how to do different things on your course site. Click here and look through the options under the “Building Your Site” heading. The Open Lab looks different from the Commons on the main page/profiles, but the portfolio/course site/Wordpress aspects are the same.

How to Insert Your Assignments Into Your Portfolios

Somebody requested a post with instructions on how to insert your assignments into your portfolios, so here it is! There are several different ways to do so, and you should choose whichever one you prefer.

Method 1: Paste Directly Into WordPress

You can just paste your paper/other assignment directly into the Post or Page editor in WordPress. Then, use the Preview function to make sure all of your formatting still looks good, and fix anything that doesn’t look right. The advantage of this method is that it is very easy! The disadvantage is that you will necessarily lose some formatting, and formatting a blog post or web page like an academic essay usually looks bad.

Method 2: Include a Link to Your Word Doc or PDF

This is the method I recommend as a balance between ease and looking nice on the web.

If you choose this method, I might write your reflection on a given assignment as a blog post or web page on your portfolio, but include a link in the post/page to the assignment itself.

For example, take a look at most of my Assignment blog posts this semester– I reformatted the rubric and assignment sheet to look nice for WordPress, but most of the posts also have a link where you can download a Word Doc version of the assignment.

For assignments that don’t also require a reflection, just write enough on the page/post so that it doesn’t look weirdly blank.

Instructions

  1. If you are in the Classic Editor, click on “Add Media” (it appears as the first button below the post/page title). If you are in the Block Editor, look for the button in the formatting bar that has a music note and camera– when you mouse over it, that will say Add Media too.
  2. Clicking on Add Media will take you to the Media Library for your portfolio. Click over to the tab that says “Upload Files.”
  3. Upload your file.
  4. Once your file is uploaded, you will be automatically redirected to the Media Library page for that file. On the right hand side of your screen, you will see some spaces to fill in information about your file– change any of these that you wish.
  5. Click the blue “Insert Into Post” button.
  6. Whatever you had as the File Title will automatically appear as the text in your post/page. Once you’ve inserted the link, you can change the text if you want.

Method 3: Use a PDF Embedder Plugin

This method is the most complicated, but also the nicest-looking.

On the Resources Page on our website, I’ve included a link to a site that explains different plugins you could install to your portfolio site (using the Plugin tab in the lefthand sidebar) to embed files directly– that will make them display in a special window while retaining all of your formatting.

 

Portfolio Reminder and Practical Guide

In case you were absent one or both of the days we went to the computer lab to work on our portfolios, I wanted to write a post with instructions and recommendations.

How to Create Your Portfolio

  1. Log in to the CUNY Academic Commons home page. Click on “Sites.”
  2. You should see a button that says “Create a Site.” Click on that.
  3. You will see 3 options: Group, Site, and Group + Site. Choose the one that is just “Site.”
  4. Fill out the info and choose your settings however you like. The “site domain” is the URL you type in to get to your site. Choose “Portfolio” under the “Primary Purpose” option.
  5. For the privacy settings, choose whatever you want, but know you will need to give me access to your portfolio at the end of the semester in order for me to grade it.
  6. For the template, choose either “default” or “academic portfolio.” The portfolio template is designed for professors, not students, so you will still need to make changes.

How to Edit Your Portfolio

Once you create your site, you will see the same black CUNY Commons menu at the top of your screen just like you see when you’re on our course site.

  1. Click on the name of your site in that menu to access your dashboard. Or, click “edit” on any page on your site.
  2. The dashboard will look like the editing dashboard you used to write your “Analysis of an Ad” and “Data Collection” posts for our site, but with a lot more options in the sidebar. That’s because you’re the owner of your site!
  3. In the lefthand sidebar, go to “Appearance” and then “Customize.”
  4. Make whatever changes to your site that you want!
  5. To add pages or posts, use the “pages” and “posts” options in the dashboard lefthand sidebar instead of Appearance.

How Do You Know What To Do?

Instructions and a rubric for what to include in your portfolio are here.

Links to examples of other students’ English 101 portfolios are here. 

You can design and organize your portfolio however you want– your assignments don’t need to be in a specific order. It should be what you think looks good, makes sense, and is easy for a user of your website to understand.

For WordPress Help

Just Googling your questions will likely yield a lot of helpful instructions, since WordPress works the same no matter what website is using the software. However, for WordPress help explicitly geared toward students, the Open Lab at City Tech (similar to CUNY Commons) has a lot of Help documentation specifically geared toward students and faculty. Click here for instructions on how to do many common tasks on your site! 

You will see my face in the sidebar there– working on the Open Lab is my other job! Feel free to also ask me or your classmates if you continue running into trouble.

Descriptive/Reverse Outlining (Class 11/27)

More detailed directions here: Descriptive Outlining Instructions (from Kim Liao)

For this Peer Review Day, you and your group will be making “descriptive outlines” or “reverse outlines” of each other’s papers. It’s called “reverse outlining” because instead of outlining a paper before you write it, you are outlining a paper that already exists. It’s “descriptive outlining” because in addition to outlining the content of the paper, you also describe the rhetorical purpose of each paragraph.

Choose whose paper you will outline first. For EACH paragraph, the other group members should collaboratively discuss two things/answer two questions:

  1. What is the paragraph SAYING? (One-sentence summary of the paragraph)
  2. What is the paragraph DOING? (The paragraph’s role/purpose in the paper as a whole)

The writer should write down what the group members decide for each one, even if the writer disagrees with their answers. The writer will then have a reverse outline of how their paper comes across to readers.

AFTER that, if you still have time, you can discuss other aspects of the paper as a group.

Thanksgiving Extra Credit

Due before we reconvene after the break (so before Monday Dec 2 at 8:00am)

Thanksgiving is a holiday of lies. Or rather, the “story of Thanksgiving” is a lie. The Pilgrims and other European colonists were generally violent and racist toward the indigenous peoples of the Americas (even if some individuals were kind), and they took advantage of them more or less whenever possible. Including deliberately spreading smallpox to wipe them out and steal the land they lived on. The U.S. government has continued to oppress Native Americans throughout the country’s history, including continuing to remove them from the land they live on (look up the DAPL pipeline and the proposed NASA telescope project in Hawai’i for examples).

It’s fucked up.

HOWEVER, a holiday tradition of eating special foods with your loved ones and being thankful for things in your life is beautiful, so I think as long as we keep the real history of European colonization in mind and recognize the revisionist history that is taught to us in school and in popular culture, I think it’s okay to still enjoy the loving parts of how the holiday is currently celebrated.

THEREFORE, for one point of extra credit (onto your participation grade unless your participation is already at 100%, in which case it will go to your rhetorical devices grade), leave a comment with some things you’re thankful for this year!

No length requirement, but you’re welcome to write as much as you want. You may NOT say you’re thankful for this extra credit/extra credit assignment. And I encourage you to read each other’s comments, too! I will also be writing one.

 

Final Paper Rubric

Partial Draft Due: 11/25 (Monday by 8:00am)
Full First Draft Due: 11/27 (Wednesday by 8:00am)
Final Draft Due: 12/4 (Wednesday by midnight)

For a word doc version of this rubric, please click here: Final Paper Rubric

General Guidelines

For this assignment, you will compose a 6-10 page paper in which you synthesize research on the topic of your choosing to answer (or begin to answer) your inquiry question(s).

In your essay, you should:

  • Leave the reader with a clear understanding of the answer(s) [or lack of clear answer(s)] to your inquiry question. Stay focused on your inquiry question throughout the paper.
  • Develop and support your statements with evidence drawn from your research
  • Make rhetorical choices appropriate to your rhetorical situation (writing a formal research paper).
    • Choose two rhetorical devices that we have studied to use in your paper
      • Use each device at least twice and underline the usage
    • Appeal to your audience’s sense of ethos, logos, and pathos
      • Either label where you use these rhetorical appeals or write a summary paragraph explaining how you used them
    • Utilize both academic sources and non-academic sources for a total of at least 6 sources (may or may not be the same 6 as in your annotated bibliography) and document these sources appropriately using APA style
    • Follow the structural and stylistic conventions of academic writing

Final Paper Rubric (100 points)

  1. Turned in drafts on time and participated in writing workshop. (25 points)
  2. Incorporates research effectively and appropriately to support the argument (15 points)
    • All claims are backed up by evidence as needed (5 points)
    • Quotes or paraphrases from sources are well-integrated into the paragraphs (no naked quotes) (5 points)
    • All information from another source is correctly cited using APA-style in-text citations (5 points)
  1. Paragraphs and sections follow the structural conventions of Standard American Academic English (25 points)
    • Paper includes an introductory section that establishes the topic, the inquiry question(s), and the writer’s preliminary answer to the question(s) (5 points)
    • Body paragraphs stay focused on individual claims supported by relevant evidence and use topic sentences and transition phrases (10 points)
    • The paper includes a conclusion that explains why the inquiry is important and what readers should take away from the paper. (5 points)
    • The overall organization of the paper is appropriate to the topic, inquiry, and assignment (5 points)
  1. Paper is formatted in APA style (15 points)
    • Title page with name, title, school, page number, running head, and author’s note if needed
    • Abstract with keywords
    • Running head and page number on subsequent pages
    • References page is formatted correctly
  1. Follows the stylistic conventions of Standard American Academic English (10 points)
    • Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Formatting, Capitalization, Formality
  1. Other Requirements (10 points)
    • At least two rhetorical devices are used at least twice and are underlined
    • Uses of all 3 rhetorical appeals are marked or summarized
    • Paper meets the length requirement
    • At least 6 sources are used

Annotated Bibliography

Due: Monday, November 18

 For a Word Doc version of this assignment sheet, click here: Annotated Bibliography Assignment .

Instructions

  1. As you research your inquiry question for your final project, compile a list of sources (bibliography) that help you answer your question and/or provide useful background knowledge for you and your readers.
  2. Cite each source according to APA style.
  3. Below each citation, write a paragraph or so about that source (an annotation). The paragraph should include:
      • A summary of the source
      • Your thoughts on the source (How do you think you will use it in your paper? What bias do you think it might have? What are its strengths, and what are its weaknesses?)
      • A reminder to yourself of anything else you want to make sure you remember about the source

Other Guidelines:

  • At least 6 sources + annotations
  • In addition to writing each citation in APA style, you should also include these other aspects of APA formatting: title page with title, name, university, and any author’s note you want to include, correct running head on all pages, page numbers, correctly titled References page

Grading:

Each source + annotation includes all required parts (4 points per entry = 24 points)
Every other element of APA style listed above is met: 9 points
Turned in on time: 2 points

Total: 35 points

Halloween Extra Credit Opportunity

Because Halloween is a Thursday this year so we will not see each other and get to talk and write about Halloween and its rhetorics/meanings, I wanted to offer you an extra credit opportunity for Halloween instead.

And we’ll be doing it as a cross-college collaboration with my friend and colleague Eric Dean Wilson’s class at Queens College!!

What To Do (Part 1)

On or near Halloween, write a blog post on our course site  that includes 1) a photo of you in your Halloween costume and 2) some writing about what your costume means to you. The writing can be rhetorical/analytical, or argumentative, or personal narrative, or really any other mode you choose. Tag your post “Halloween”

If you don’t have a Halloween costume or don’t want to write about yourself, you can also post a photo of a friend or family member in their costume and interview them for the writing instead.

If you don’t celebrate Halloween, you can post a photo of your choosing and write about your relationship with the holiday as someone who does not celebrate it.

(This part enables you to earn up to 2 extra points in either your participation grade category or your rhetorical devices category, whichever will benefit you more)

What To Do (Part 2)

On Halloween or in the few days after, visit Eric’s students in their Instagram hashtag (#fa19eng110), read their posts, and respond to several of them, answering the question, “What did their post make you think about?”

Also respond to any/all comments they leave on your blog post.

(This part enables you to earn up to 2 points in your participation grade category only.)

Final Research Paper/Project Guidelines

These are up for discussion/negotiation/revision. Please either leave a comment with your questions/suggestions or remember them to bring up in class.

For a .docx version of these guidelines, click here: Final Research Paper Assignment Overview

For the last half of the semester, we will be writing toward our final research papers. The final research paper is worth 20% of your total grade in the course, and the process assignments leading up to the final paper are worth another 20%.

Topic

Choose any topic you wish to research that relates to one of the chapter themes in Weapons of Math Destruction (algorithmic modeling, college admissions and rankings, online advertising, criminal justice, job applicant systems, scheduling workers’ shifts, credit scores, the insurance industry, Facebook and politics). This is a broad range of topics! I’m open to you taking this project in a variety of directions.

Remember: Choose something you find interesting enough to hold your attention for the next several weeks. This is a long project process, and it will be very hard if you’re bored by your own topic.

Overall Task:

Write an argumentative research paper (perhaps 6-10 pages) that answers an inquiry question you have about one of the topics above. You should include some discussion of the use of algorithms/Big Data in relation to your topic, but that does not need to be the main focus.

Schedule of Assignments

 October 21 (Monday): Proposals Due

October 28-30 (1 week): Learning Research Skills and Computer Lab Time for Research

November 18 (Monday): Annotated Bibliography Due
November 18 (Monday): In-Class Process Assignment—Imaginary Interview

November 20 (Wednesday): Outline Due

November 25 (Monday): Partial Draft Due, first day of Peer Review

November 27 (Wednesday): Full First Draft Due, second day of Peer Review

December 4 (Wednesday): Final Draft Due

December 9-11 (1 week): Presenting our projects to each other

December 16 (Monday): Portfolios Due, All Revisions of Previous Assignments Due